Qatar reports first virus death, as GCC toll hits 11

Qatar reports first virus death, as GCC toll hits 11
A 57-year-old Bangladeshi national with chronic diseases became Qatar's first Covid-19 fatality.
1 min read
29 March, 2020
A Bangladeshi national living in Qatar became the country's first coronavirus casualty [Getty]
Qatar recorded its first death from the new coronavirus on Saturday, while confirmed infections rose by 28 to 590, the health ministry said.

A "57-year-old Bangladeshi national resident (in Qatar)... suffering from chronic diseases" died from the COVID-19 respiratory disease, the ministry said on Twitter. 

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia's health ministry reported 99 new cases and declared one death on Saturday, taking the kingdom's death toll to four, while the United Arab Emirates declared 63 fresh cases, Oman 21 and Kuwait 10.

This took the cumulative confirmed infections to 1,203 in Saudi Arabia, 468 in the UAE, 457 in Bahrain, 235 in Kuwait and 152 in Oman, according to each country's official figures.

The official Covid-19 death toll across the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) stands at 11, including four in Bahrain and two in the UAE.

Saudi Arabia on Saturday extended a curfew in some neighbourhoods of Medina to 24 hours per day, as a "precautionary" measure. 

It has already enforced lockdown on the capital as well as Medina and Mecca.

Saudi authorities have warned that transgressors of the curfew will be fined 10,000 Saudi riyals (£2,138) and could face jail for repeated breaches.



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